


Shine of Our Souls

by NamelesslyNightlock, Rabentochter



Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Fluffy Ending, Happy Ending, Hugs, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Boyfriend, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mindless Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs Sleep, Tony Stark is a good boyfriend, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-18 01:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21519901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rabentochter/pseuds/Rabentochter
Summary: Tony knows that fifteen hours is too long to work without a break– but there’s something that he needs to finish before morning, so he has to keep going. That’s not about to stop him from relaxing at the first touch of his soulmate’s hands, though.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: This Was A Bad Idea (but we know what we're doing) [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1388356
Comments: 31
Kudos: 403





	Shine of Our Souls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jaxonkreide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaxonkreide/gifts).



> HERZLICHEN GLÜCKWUNSCH ZUM GEBURTSTAG 🎉  
>   
> (Also, working title for this fic was ‘Tony and Loki the Glow Worms’ and honestly we were _this close_ )  
>   
> Enjoy!  
>   
> Art by **Rabentochter** , fic by **NamelesslyNightlock.**

Tony knew that fifteen hours was too long to work without a break. Contrary to popular belief, he _did_ actually understand that working without pause meant his projects would turn out for the worse, that he would actually need recovery time. He _knew_ that, he wasn’t an idiot, and he also actually did tend to take better care of himself these days than he used to.

He _knew_ that he should have headed back upstairs – if not to the kitchen then at least to the bedroom – more than several hours ago. But that didn’t change the fact that he had so much still to do.

And he couldn’t simply _stop._ Had it been for SHIELD, he’d have discarded the project in favour of sleep and cuddles in an instant. The Avengers? They could wait. An upgrade for the spidey-suit? Well, he might at least _hesitate_ before leaving it for another day, but Peter would understand.

 _This_ , however? This project was something special, and he needed to get it done. He was _almost_ there, just a few more tweaks and it would be fine– but… his eyes were starting to droop, his head was beginning to loll. He was shaking himself back awake every few moments—

And so it was that he almost didn’t even realise he had finished until JARVIS was asking him if the completed piece was ready for the final touches.

Tony didn’t bother getting up– he just handed the item over to DUM-E, trusting that the bot would recognise its importance. DUM-E then took it over to the other side of the workshop, where JARVIS would help him give it a last buff and polish.

Tony slumped forward in his chair, his elbows resting on the workbench and his head in his hands, feeling the weight of exhaustion rippling through him as he tried to stay awake for these last few minutes—

And then a warm hand rubbed over his shoulder blades, shifting the material of his shirt, pressing firm but not too forceful as it stroked across his spine. Tony leaned back into it with a low sigh, his eyes finally slipping closed. Lips pressed into his hair, and the hand shifted around Tony’s neck to press over his heart.

“Loki,” Tony breathed, tilting his head to the side. Loki leaned down to press his lips to Tony’s cheek, his other hand hooking down under Tony’s arm and around his waist, so that the back of the chair was between them.

“Anthony,” Loki replied, his lips curving into a smile against Tony’s skin. “Are you still working?”

That had Tony smiling, a soft thing that tugged up along the corners of his mouth and played havoc with his heartbeat. This was one of the things Loki did which made Tony love him all the more, which made him truly feel like they had fallen in the most perfect of ways, fitting together with every crack and every barb aligned.

Loki never asked Tony if he was tired, never asked if he wanted something to eat, never _told_ him that he needed to stop. He always asked first whether Tony was still _working_ , and if the answer was yes? Then… unless Loki was worried, he would leave Tony to it.

Tony thought it likely though, that if he said yes now it would be one of those occasions when Loki would stay, would curl up on the tatty couch in the corner with a book or a blanket, just so that Tony would have some company. And, it didn’t feel like Loki was babysitting him, or watching him as if he were a kid. Nah. It just made Tony feel like Loki really did _care._

So, yeah, it was certainly one of those things that had helped Tony fall in love. One of those things that had him believing that the bond between them was real, that the lines which had brightened Loki’s skin at their first touch were not simply a trick of fate– but a foundation that they had built upon to end up in the place of happiness they were now.

“I just finished,” Tony admitted, his voice soft. 

Loki’s smile remained in place– Tony could feel it as cool lips pressed a soft kiss to his throat. “Then will you come up to bed?”

There was no reason to argue– not with Loki asking so gently, the thumb of one hand stroking over the skin of Tony’s chest while the fingers of the other slipped under the hem of Tony’s singlet to press against his stomach. There was nothing sexual about the gesture– it was just comforting, to have as much of their skin touching as they could.

Tony’s smile widened as he looked down to Loki’s arm, where he could see the lines rippling below Loki’s skin. They were a light blue, the same colour as Tony’s arc reactor, the colour that generally came to mind when one thought of electricity. Loki had told him that the lines were how Jötnar found their soulmates, that the markings on their skin worked as something of a map. Humans, on the other hand, reacted differently to the one that fate had deemed they would be best suited to– they had matching marks somewhere upon their bodies that began to glow when the two halves of a pair first touched. Tony had actually gone most of his life thinking that he didn’t _have_ a mark, but when his and Loki’s skin had touched for the first time – in, admittedly, rather unfortunate circumstances – those blue lines had begun to shine across Loki’s skin… and Tony’s eyes had begun to glow.

Just as he knew they would be right now, his irises sparking with a bright, bright green– as if they had been imbued with Loki’s magic.

Unable to help himself, Tony reached down to take Loki’s hand in his own, and then he lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the glowing blue lines along the inside of Loki’s wrist.

Three years since those unfortunate circumstances had been solved– three years of being with his soulmate, of being as happy as it was possible to be… and yet, somehow, every moment he spent with Loki just seemed even better than the last.

It had been a while since Loki had asked his question, but he wasn’t pushing– he was merely waiting, apparently perfectly content with his arms around Tony’s shoulders, even though Tony knew that he had to be bending over a fair amount to be able to hold that position. His lips were still brushing the line of Tony’s jaw, and his nose occasionally skimmed through Tony’s hair, as if Loki could spend an entire day just breathing Tony in. And Tony… well, he _had_ meant to wait. He had hurried so he could finish his project and head up to bed, so that he could present it the following morning. But…

“I have something for you,” Tony said, turning his head slightly to meet Loki’s gaze, his lips still skimming Loki’s wrist, feeling a touch of warmth when he noticed the way that the blue light danced with green over Loki’s pale skin. “I _was_ going to wait until tomorrow, but—”

“Anthony,” Loki sighed– though he sounded more fond than anything. “You do know that tomorrow is not truly my day of birth, correct?

“I had JARVIS check my math,” Tony insisted. “It _is_ your birthday. And I know you said that you didn’t need a present, but. This is the first year that I’ve actually _known_ your birthday, so I wanted to make it special.”

Loki was wearing a frown, but it seemed more curious than anything– and he didn’t complain as Tony moved to stand up, facing his love and entwining their hands.

“DUM-E,” Tony called out. “Are you done, kiddo?”

The small whir would have been enough of an answer, but DUM-E was nothing if not thorough. The bot continued to make little excited chirping noises as he rolled across the workshop floor, just barely clearing the corners of the benches as he did so, his arm held out in front of him and a small, metallic object clutched in his claw.

Tony watched Loki’s expression right up until the last moment, enjoying the realisation and wonder which dawned across his lover’s face. Tony was so entranced by it that he only looked away when DUM-E nudged at his arm.

After running one hand over DUM-E’s left piston in thanks, Tony then gently took the object from him, holding it between two fingers and a thumb as he lifted it up between himself and Loki. The glow of their soul marks danced prettily in the reflection of the polished silver surface, the Badassium from which Tony had forged the ring having buffed up perfectly under DUM-E and JARVIS’ watchful eyes.

This, of course, was something that Tony had put a lot of thought into. He’d started by researching Viking traditions, and for a good few panicked hours he thought he was going to have to either dig up Howard’s grave or find one of Howard’s old guns– which would be a little tricky, since Tony was fairly sure he’d destroyed most of Howard’s things back in his 20s. Well, he supposed that stuff from the 1974 Expo had survived his purge, so perhaps something else might have as well. Thankfully, though, the panic abated when he’d thought to speak to Thor, and he learned that the sword thing _was_ just for Vikings. Asgardians, like modern humans, liked to keep things slightly simpler—

Simple, just like the simplicity of the love between them– just like the simplicity of the metal band held between his fingers, a circle that went on forever.

“I wanted to give you this.”

As he held the ring up between them, Tony didn’t need to say a single thing to explain. Loki knew exactly what he was asking. And given Tony’s propensity to babble– the silence almost made the moment seem all the more profound.

This, after all, was something they had already talked about– they both knew they would be spending the rest of their lives with one another. Loki had procured a golden apple for Tony a year or so earlier, and they knew that there would never be anyone else.

Loki held out the hand that had been resting on Tony’s waist, his fingers steady with not a single tremor in sight– and it was only _after_ Tony had slid the ring into place that Loki spoke.

“Yes,” he said– and then he leaned forward to bring their lips together, kissing Tony sweet and slow. Tony’s fingers slipped against Loki’s and landed in his shirt, one hand clutching the material while the other slid over Loki’s shoulders. When their lips parted, it was only for half a moment before Tony touched them together again, feeling like that wasn’t enough, like nothing ever would be. It wasn’t that he wanted something deeper– he just wanted _more._

“You’re going to marry me,” he whispered, the words ghosting over Loki’s lips as a smile brightened his own. They were so close still, their noses brushing together with every slight movement.

“Yes,” Loki said again. And his voice was laced with such amazement and wonder as he continued that Tony felt his heart skip a beat. “And you’re going to marry _me.”_

Even though it had been a long time coming – even though they had both been aware that this moment was on its way – it still felt like something was slipping into place that they hadn’t had before. Tony just couldn’t stop smiling, and as he held his soulmate’s gaze, it seemed that Loki felt exactly the same way.

“I will need to find you a ring, as well,” Loki said, his voice soft. Then he pressed their lips together one more time before leaning back properly. “But not right now. You are tired.”

Tony smiled, and cupped Loki’s cheek for a moment before reaching down to lace their fingers together– enjoying the feel of the cool ring against his skin more than he could possibly say.

“And you promised that you would take me to bed,” he whispered.

Loki pressed his lips to Tony’s temple, lingering there for a moment as he squeezed Tony’s hand– then his other arm wrapped around Tony’s waist, and he gently began to lead Tony toward the door. They both paused for a second to give an excited DUM-E a pat, and then they continued on their way toward the elevator and the bedroom that had belonged to them both now for years– and still would, for many years to come. Unless of course, they decided to leave the tower, to explore other avenues of their long lives—

But either way, they would always be together.

They curled up close on their bed, fingers trailing tenderly over skin before entwining in a comfortable embrace.

“Hey Loki?” Tony whispered.

“Yes, sálufélagi minn?”

“Happy birthday.”

And as Loki’s lips smiled against his, as the darkness was soothed by the glow of their joy and as Loki’s skin and Tony’s eyes gleamed with the brightness of their connection—

Tony couldn’t help but think of just how lucky he was, to have found something like this.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find the art for this fic on tumblr [here.](https://rabentochter.tumblr.com/post/189224421254/shine-of-our-souls-a-birthday-gift-from)


End file.
